Brits losing thousands to old boilers as gas prices continue to rise
With energy prices already as much as 54% higher from April and with further rises expected in October 2022, we took a look at the role older boilers play in wasting gas and money on your energy bills…
How much could your old boiler be losing you?
On average, 60% of annual home energy cost is spent on heating, which for homes with gas-fired central heating, means the majority of this work is done by the boiler.
But not all boilers use the gas we pay for efficiently. There’s a sliding scale used by gas engineers and energy efficiency professionals that rates boilers from grade A (most efficient) to grade G (least efficient).
To achieve a Grade A efficiency rating, a boiler must operate at 90% efficiency, while a Grade G may be as low as 70% with some boilers scoring even lower, meaning a huge amount of the gas that household pays for is wasted.
It means that millions of homes across the UK are unknowingly paying for an expensive cocktail of higher energy prices mixed with old, inefficient boilers.
When does a boiler become inefficient?
There are other factors that can effect the efficiency of a boiler, including the quality of the boiler, the skill of the install and how often it’s been serviced. But sooner or later, when a boiler has heated up thousands of showers and baths and a lake’s worth of washing up water, its efficiency will begin to decline.
A good rule of thumb is that any boiler over 6 years old is likely to have significantly reduced efficiency, especially if it hasn’t had boiler servicing regularly.
But thousands, if not millions, of boilers in the UK are between 10 and 15 years old, and it is these boilers that are far more likely to fall into the money-pit Grade G category, wasting money that could be better spent on your or your family.
Our blog how old is my boiler has helped thousands of people establish their boiler age in properties where the boiler was already installed, and could help you get an indication about whether its time for a new boiler.
So how much could a new boiler save me?
This will depend on how older and inefficient your boiler is, and the usuage which itself will depend on how well insulated your home is, how large it is, and how toasty you like your room temperature.
To give you a guide, the Energy Saving Trust published data on projected savings when changing from an old boiler to an A rated boiler.
Estimated Savings
How much is a new boiler?
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